Had to travel to the mainland on business today so took the opportunity to leave the Elan with Cos at Sportomotive to have the Hi-Spec brake up-grade fitted and an oil,brake fluid and coolant change I can only say how friendly, knowledgeable and helpfull they are!It makes such a change to talk to someone who not only understands the car but is actually a fellow enthusiast.Thoroughly recommended

Definitely friendly and helpful, and seem reasonably priced too. And it's the little things they do without charging, like realigning the roof and seals when I had a gap by the window.Cos said yesterday he'd just bought an Elan again, so I definitely trust them to look after mine!

It's hard to fathom the Business Case for a decision to move from Salisbury, with an almost 360 degree catchment for a hundred miles, to Bournemouth which has, er, the Isle of Wight and the New Forrest. Be interesting to see their accountants assessment.

You know more than you think you know, just as you know less than you want to know. ... Oscar Wilde

epipete wrote:It's hard to fathom the Business Case for a decision to move from Salisbury, with an almost 360 degree catchment for a hundred miles, to Bournemouth which has, er, the Isle of Wight and the New Forrest. Be interesting to see their accountants assessment.

There's nothing on their website about a recent or impending move, so let's hope it's a rumour (unless Kathryn has more definite news). And I agree - I was always taught on my business courses that you never site a business somewhere which doesn't have a circular catchment area.

Mind you, it may be nothing to do with a business case. Perhaps who ever runs it just wants to retire to the seaside.

Last time I drove past I noticed building work going on but assumed it was just at the garage in front not the workshop, but yesterday my parents drove past (en route to Bournemouth incidentally) and told me it had gone. (Halfords Autocentre coming soon apparently!) I don't think their website has been updated for a long long time. Googled to find out if they'd moved and found this on TLF: http://www.thelotusforums.com/forums/to ... ave-moved/

He's definitely moved - he did a little tinkering for me a couple of months back. He's in Throop which is kind of on the outskirts near the main road (A338) into Bournemouth. I don't know the whole story but I think he was in business in some other guy in the Salisbury location but now they are doing their own thing. Cos lives in Christchurch I think so I guess he thought he might as well be closer to home.Good news for me anyway as I live in Poole

I sold my old SE wheels to Cos a couple of weeks back. His mate picked them up (A long time Esprit owner) and confirmed that Cos is Bournemouth based now.Last service and works I had done locally, I took to mine to Neil Garner at the Cotswold Airfield Business Park near Kemble. Very good, great clean work shop, specialist sports car engineers (F1 experienced). Not cheap, but they instilled me with confidence when they looked at the Elan... Which is more than I've had from most Lotus garages!

Ultimatt wrote:I sold my old SE wheels to Cos a couple of weeks back. His mate picked them up (A long time Esprit owner) and confirmed that Cos is Bournemouth based now.Last service and works I had done locally, I took to mine to Neil Garner at the Cotswold Airfield Business Park near Kemble. Very good, great clean work shop, specialist sports car engineers (F1 experienced). Not cheap, but they instilled me with confidence when they looked at the Elan... Which is more than I've had from most Lotus garages!

That's very useful, thanks. Neil Garner is about 2 miles up the road from me. I had wondered about taking the Elan there, but I thought he dealt mainly with newer vehicles. He did a lot of work on my late lamented Boxster RS60. Will definitely give him a try for the next tranche of work.

BTW, there's reputed to be a very good powder coater on the same site.

We'll have to have a meet up some time Saltire. I'm just he other side of Ciren. I got one of Neil's technicians to take the car out and do a full inspection to check for any potential works required and was comforted by their knowledge, care and attitude.

They haven't seen many Elans (I think mine was only the second) but from a mechanical perspective they know what they're doing. I'd probably be more 'involved' with any of the Elan quirky jobs as I've probably got more knowledge gleaned from here and working on the Elan over 16 years and wouldn't want them having to figure it out for themselves.

Ultimatt wrote:They haven't seen many Elans (I think mine was only the second) but from a mechanical perspective they know what they're doing. I'd probably be more 'involved' with any of the Elan quirky jobs as I've probably got more knowledge gleaned from here and working on the Elan over 16 years and wouldn't want them having to figure it out for themselves.

Matt

That's an interesting and useful point, but given the age and limited no of Elans it is probably true that most mechanics won't have much experience of them. I often think that a mechanic experienced in old rusted antiques is a benifit

Where I am the experience of Lotus is almost non existent, but with the assistance of printed pages from off the LEC site coupled with a competent and willing mechanic we can do very well.

Amusingly, the first lesson is always 'these are the jacking points and this is how how to raise the car off the ground'!

You know more than you think you know, just as you know less than you want to know. ... Oscar Wilde

I thought about Neil Garner too. Drove past couple of weeks ago, all I could see was TVRs. It briefly crossed my mind to pop in but I didn't! I'm sure I've already read somewhere on here he's not that experienced with Elans (as Matt said), I'd also be put off by high pricing. I think I'll take it down to Cos next month and have a day trip at the same time. I'd rather travel to someone who knows the car and owns one himself. But it is good to have recommendations for nearer places if the car isn't driveable. Didn't you guys have concerns about Malmesbury Specialist Cars too? I'm sure someone felt ripped off??

My car must have been reasonably local in its early days too. Although I bought her from West Sussex and she'd resided in Cambridgeshire and up north, her first ever service was at Malmesbury Specialist Cars and her second by Cos at Haydon Motors as it was then. I feel like I've brought her home! I do wonder what places she's been to and roads she's travelled in her 20 years!

Neil came from an F1 (Benetton) background, then started with TVR when he went into business on his own. He'll do anything in that line - TVR, Lotus, Porsche and some of the quick BMWs/Audis as well. I suspect his prices are towards the upper end, but I guess you get what you pay for.

I've not used Malmesbury Specialist Cars for servicing (I think Epipete has), but I recently helped some friends buy a Subaru from their car sales operation. Not impressed - a bit too tinted glasses and sheepskin coat for me.

I have a very good mechanicals chap in Crudwell village. He works out of the local stables (which his partner runs), and used to build the race engines for the Alfa Romeo BTCC cars. His prices are extremely reasonable.

I too would like a Lotus specialist, but the risk of going to someone like Cos is that if he can't finish the work in a day for any reason, I'm reduced to a B&B in Bournemouth, which isn't ideal.

I'm the 4th owner of my car. It was originally sold by Storm in Leicester (Lotus dealers at the time) to. Gentleman who loved in Coventry, then moved to Newmarket. It subsequently spent 8 years in Cirencester, then was sold on to someone in Cheltenham who seems to have neglected it. I have full bills from the first two owners, and none from the third , but he only seems to have done about 200 miles in 7 years. Much of the time it was SORN.

I feel a Wilts and Glos meet coming on in the summer

Last edited by Saltire on Wed 09.03.2016, 08:25, edited 1 time in total.

Yes I see what you mean about getting stuck in Bournemouth! There's a few places on the industrial estate a stones throw from my house; the Subaru (and Isuzu!) dealership, but they don't have a great reputation, the chap my dad takes his Toyota to (though not for servicing) who did my O2 sensor for a tenner cash in hand, and the guy I've taken my Ibiza to, who confirmed my Elan's HGF. A few days later I took my Ibiza down and he asked about the Elan, how much I'd been quoted and listed what I should make sure they do, skim it etc, all very knowledgable (unlike me, but I had done a bit of research), then he said make sure they put red coolant in, I didn't say it out loud but I was like "whoa, no! Not red coolant, it should be blue in that engine!" Now I'm not so sure about him!